ADB expresses support for Duterte, vows aid to administration

Asian Development Bank (ADB) on Wednesday commended the efforts of President Rodrigo Duterte in fighting corruption and increasing transparency in government affairs as it vowed to help the current administration.

“I was very impressed with President Duterte’s clear messages on building confidence on public service delivery, respecting contracts and transactions already approved and awaiting implementation, removing red tape, and fighting corruption,” ADB president Takehiko Nakao said in a statement.

Nakao met with Duterte at Malacañang on Wednesday afternoon.

The ADB president lauded Duterte’s “early efforts to consult the private sector, civil society, and other partners to ensure a level playing field for all businesses, and uplift the lives of poor Filipinos, a fourth of the country’s population.”

He also expressed ADB’s strong commitment in supporting the government’s 10-point economic agenda.

He said ADB would cooperate with the new administration to help “institute a more progressive tax system and effective tax administration, increase competitiveness and the ease of doing business, accelerate infrastructure development with public-private partnerships playing a key role, promote rural development and value chains, invest in human capital such as health and education, and strengthen social protection including through conditional cash transfers.”

Nakao said supporting peace and development in Mindanao would be given high priority by the ADB.

He said this would include road infrastructure rehabilitation, promotion of small- and medium-sized enterprises, and local government capacity building.

“ADB is collaborating with the Mindanao Development Authority, the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao, and the Bangsamoro Development Agency, and other stakeholders,” he said.

ADB said it was ready to make additional increases to assistance in the coming years, adding it would look for opportunities to increase its nonsovereign operations like loans, equity investment, and guarantees to the private sector.

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